The agency versus in-house decision usually gets framed as a cost comparison, and that framing misses most of what actually determines the right answer. A single in-house marketing hire costs less on paper than a full agency retainer, but that comparison only holds if that one hire can do strategy, design, copywriting, paid media, and production at a professional level, which is a genuinely rare combination of skills to find in one person at a salary a growing business can af